[begin page 291]

It was the most ingenious scheme the Four Hundred had ever invented. It was so original, indeed, that no one outside that Reservation believed it was an invention of the Four Hundred. The officeⒶalteration in the MS of the scheme was, to raise $2,000 for one of the F. H.'s numerous charities, the Decayed Ladies' Retreat. The tickets—as usual—were limited to 400. The price—as usual—was $50 per ticket. The cash result would be—as usual—$20,000. The ball and supper, and certain other necessaries would cost—as usual—$18,000. Thus—as usual—the $2,000 for the charity was safe and certain the moment the Reservation heard of the project.

The ingenious new scheme had an attractiveⒶalteration in the MS title—“the Multiplex Mock Marriage”—and was booked for the 17th of the month; scene of it, the state drawingroom of the Vanastordam palace. All unmarried ticket-holders, male and female, were to come in mask and domino.Ⓐalteration in the MS Out of these,Ⓐalteration in the MS 13 grooms and 13 brides would be chosen by lot, for the mock marriages. The men would draw lots from a vase containing the first 13 letters of the alphabet, and a number of blanks; the girls would draw from a vase containing the rest of the alphabet, (beginning with N), and a lot of blanks. The man drawing A would be married to the girl drawing NⒶalteration in the MS; B to the girl drawing O; C to the girl drawing P, and so on. The losing lots were gold ringsⒶalteration in the MS set with a single diamond, the win- [begin page 292] ning ones were gold rings bearing a letter of the alphabet formed of small emeralds set in a crust of diamonds.

Being masked, the marrying couples would not know each other. After the firstⒶalteration in the MS dance, the fun would begin.Ⓐalteration in the MS The man with the A ring would be called, and must stand forth; his brideⒶalteration in the MS with the N ring would be called, and must step out and stand by him and be married; then they would separate at once and mingle with the crowd.Ⓐalteration in the MS This procedure would be followed, couple by couple till the thirteen lots were all wedded and tallied off. A dance would follow, then the married couples would form in line, and at the word of command remove their masks.Ⓐalteration in the MS It was certain that there would be a sufficiency of grotesqueⒶalteration in the MS mismatings revealedⒶalteration in the MS to furnish a quality of fun that would come handsomely within the limitations of the Four Hundred's sense of humor. The second dance would be a waltz, and only the 13 couples would perform in it. After that, the ball would proceed upon the usual terms.

It was a great scheme, and raised the dead. For once the Reservation was excited. During several weeks it could talk of nothing but the coming event. It even forgot its French, and did its talking in English. When the memorable night arrived there was a crush at the Vanastordam palace, and the scene underⒶalteration in the MS the mellow moonlight of the veiled electrics was spectacular and beautiful, and it had a touch of novelty besides; for, drifting in and out and hither and thither throughⒶalteration in the MS the sea of rich color and flashing jewels, were masked black forms to the number of nearly a hundred—candidates for mock matrimony.

By and by the music struck up “Let each now choose,” etc., and this was a signal. The masked persons formed up in two lines—the males on one side, the other sex on the other—and down between were borne the vases. In a few minutes the lots had been drawn—twenty-six winners, and sixty or seventy blanks. Next, to an accompaniment of gay music the mock clergyman entered, with his acolytes and stalactites, and uttered the order—

“Let A advance to the altar.”

A stepped forward and stood waiting.

“Let N, his bride, advance.”

She stepped forward and stood by A. The usual marriage service followed. At the words “With this ring I thee wed,” A put his ring upon N's finger, and N placed hers upon his finger. The couple were duly [begin page 293] pronounced man and wife; then they went apart and were swallowed up in the crowd.

BⒶalteration in the MS and O were called; then C and P; then D and Q; and so on. In due course the 13 couples were disposed of and distributed among the throng. Then came the command—

“Form for the waltz! After which, the 13 happy couples will form up in lineⒶalteration in the MS and unmask.”

“Wait!” cried a voice. “Now is the time for the cream of the joke. And do you know what the cream of the joke is? The cream of the joke is, that by the laws of the State of New York these thirteen mock marriagesⒶemendation are not mock ones at all, but the genuine simon-pure thing, and sound as a nut!”

It made an immense sensation. The house stood dumb and pale for as much as half a minute; then broke out a buzz of whispered inquiries that swept the place like a breeze—inquiries which always brought the answer, “It's perfectly true—why didn't the managers think of that?” Within five minutes every mock-married person had fled the palace and left no sign; within another five the rest of the assemblage had begun to stream in a panic from the doors. The collapse was complete; the memory of it survives unto this day.

The after-fortunes of twelve of the married couples we shall not at present inquire into, but will limit ourselves to a consideration of those of the remaining couple—young Schuyler van Bleecker and his sweet and beautiful little wife Edith Depuyster-BrevoortⒶalteration in the MS.

At midnight Edith's parents were still up, and still talking. It was storming outside but they were not conscious of it in their luxurious surroundings, and besides, the matter in hand was of profound interest to them. Also it was a very private matter; so private, indeed, that Colonel Depuyster-Brevoort chunked up the wood fire and replenished his toddy himself, instead of ringing for a servant to do these things for him. A fine old gentleman he was; tall, slender, handsome, with a bearing part courtly, part military, a shapely head, intellectual face, silver [begin page 294] moustache and hair, and a pronounced airⒶalteration in the MS of distinction. His wife was a proper match for him; beautiful with the beauty of age, aristocratic in mien and carriage, a Dowager Duchess to all appearance. The Colonel was finishing a remark—

“And so I think there could not be a better match.”

“Perhaps so. It is good blood, the van Bleecker strain.”

“Good on both sides. His mother was a SchuylerⒶalteration in the MS.”

“Yes, that is true. As concerns religion—”

“That is satisfactory also. Dutch Reformed. And he lives it. Lives it as his forefathers lived it. His five years abroad have not weakened his principles; he is sternly truthful and conscientious, and nothing can swerve him a hair's breadth from a duty, whether it be a large one or a small one.”

“It is as if you were describing Edith, Derrick.”

“You may well say it, Louise; he is exactly like her in these regards.”

The old madame reflected a while, then said—

“In his family, religion andⒶalteration in the MS character I find no blemish, and I realize that these are three of the main things. But without the fourth he is not complete, and not the husband for our child, Derrick.”

“Means?”

The Dowager nodded assent.

“I—I will not deceive you, Louise. There he is deficient.”

“I was afraid of it, and am sorry, for I do find myself leaning toward him, after what you have said—I confess it. For in the other ways he is perfect—ideally perfect. I wish—”

She did not finish, but dropped into a reverie, and sat unconsciously clasping and unclasping the white hand which lay upon her knee. The Colonel rose and made a few turns up and down the room, silent and thinking, then sighed and resumed his seat. Presently he said with a note of appeal in his voice—

“But Louise, could we ever hope to find so many of the essentials in another? Surely we cannot. Is not this a case where, for once, poverty—”Ⓐalteration in the MS

“Ah, you have voiced the very thought that was in my mind, Derrick. We ought, we must find a way to—to— Tell me—what is his income? I can bear it.”

[begin page 295]

The Colonel hesitated, and for a moment hope brightened his eye; then he shook his head and said—Ⓐalteration in the MS

“If I must confess it, the truth is, he has none.”

“None, Derrick?—none? Oh, don't say that.”

“Indeed, it is next to that. It is not more than a quarter of a million a year.”

A deep silence of some minutes followed; then the Dowager lifted a troubled face and said, layingⒶalteration in the MS her hand gently upon her husband's arm—

“Derrick, they could not live upon it, but—”

“Ah, I was afraid you would say it, dear wife, but you are right, you are right, I know it, I feel it. It was a dream, a beautiful dream, and it was near my heart, but I realize that we can never—”

“Wait, dear, let me finish. All my life it has been my dearest privilege to make your dreams come true when the power in me lay, not thwart them; and it shall be now as always. You shall bring them together; we will support them. Does that please you, dear?”

For all answer he pressed her to his bosom, in a strong embrace which uttered his loving gratitude more eloquently than could any wordsⒶalteration in the MS have done it, even if his emotion had allowed him to command them.

Hark—footsteps! The door flew open and Edith wasⒶalteration in the MS before them. She stood for a moment as one dazed;Ⓐalteration in the MS then with a swift movement or two sheⒶalteration in the MS stripped away her mask and domino and sank white and trembling to her knees and buried her face in her mother'sⒶalteration in the MS lap, sobbing bitterly.

“My child, oh my child, what is it!”

“Oh, mother,Ⓐalteration in the MS take me to the refuge of your arms and let meⒶalteration in the MS cry out my heart, for I—”

“My darling! There—clasp me close—now, rest in peace, tell your poor mother all. What is it, dear?”

“Oh, mother, God help me—I—I am married!”

“Married!”

“Married?” echoed the father, springing to his feet with the force and suddenness of the shock.

“Married? To whom?”

[begin page 296]

“Alas, I do not know! Oh, let me die, let me die!”

The mother gathered her suffering child to her heart, murmuring, “Ah, my God, what a tragedy is this, and what a strange mystery! Oh, it is a dream, my darling, it is a delusion—it will pass. The doctor, Derrick, the doctor—hurry!”

“No, papa, don't! Oh, not for the world! I could not bear another presence; let us shut up in our own bosoms the secret of this awful disaster.”

Then, sobbing and mourning, she told the pitiful tale, the parents listening in tense and wordless silence. Closing, she said—

“Here on my hand is his ring, on his hand is mine.” She looked up sadly through her tears and murmured, with quivering lip, “Think—bride of an hour, and already a widow!Ⓐalteration in the MS for it is beyond hope that in this life I shall ever see my husband again.”

The thought struck a chill to the hearts of the parents, for they realized that uponⒶalteration in the MS this fair young creature, this fresh and dewy blossom, lay indeed the withering blight of a hopeless widowhood. Then came another thought, another sharp pain:Ⓐalteration in the MS how lovely and how gracious was that dream of an hour ago, and what a ruin is it now! At bottom and secretly, how questionably valuable had seemed marriage with that high-born pauper youth—how inestimably precious were it now, now that the chance of it was forever lost!

A little later the Colonel was sitting by the fire alone, absorbed in unhappy thinkings. Presently his wife joined him and sank into her chair, troubled and weary.

“She is asleep, Louise?”

“Yes; and steeped in the peace of forgetfulness; let us be thankful for it.”

After a pause the Colonel said, drearily—

“I have tortured my mind for a way out of this deep misfortune, but it is of no use—I find none.”

The mother wiped her eyes and said—

[begin page 297]

“No—there is no hope. She is married; she does not know what it is to be false to her word; she will stand by it till death releases her.”

“Thank God for such a child! It breaks our hearts, Louise, but we would not have her act otherwise.”

“Oh, I know it, I know it. It wrings my heartstrings, but all our heredities and the training of ourⒶalteration in the MS lives from childhood up require fidelity to our engagements, at all cost, even of life itself, and there is no way out. She must stand by her duty, and we must support her in it.”

The Colonel was proud of his wife, and his eyes showed it.

“How right you always are, Louise! When a principle is at stake, one always knows where to find you; not Gibraltar itself is more steadfastly based. Edith is our own child. When that is said, all is said. She will stand to her word.”

“Yes. Oh, Derrick, there is something heartbreaking about her humble and uncomplaining resignation to this miserable stroke—just as if she deserved it, poor dear little pious creature.”

“She is right, Louise; you and I know that, and feel it. In her heart she knows that this seeming calamity may be good fortune in disguise, for good fortune is often sent in these mysterious ways, and—”

“Brother, don't twaddle!”

This was from the Colonel's maiden sister, Minna, who had noiselessly entered the room at that moment. She was tall, and gray, a little angular, and not sentimental. She came and sat down, and again requested her brother not to twaddle. Then she went on, with decision, like the practical person that she was. “Good fortune in disguise! To my mind it is a little too damned well disguised. Some people are always finding in a thing what they want to find in it, not the thing that is plainly there—and that is your way, Derrick. Why can't you look an occurrence franklyⒶalteration in the MS in the face, and accept it for what it plainly is? This poor child is married to a shadow. Moreover, she can't locate the shadow. It is her shadow if she can get it, but how is she going to get it? There is no way to deliver the goods—you know that.”

“Minna, God can—”

“Never mind what God can do; the matter on hand is what He has done. If He meant it for a benefaction it has miscarried, and you know it.” She lit a cigar, and resumed. “That poorⒶalteration in the MS thing—do you know, she [begin page 298] is set upon sticking to that silly marriage. She said so in the carriage, coming home, and she said it again a while ago.”

“Has she been awake?”

“For a minute or two, yes—a little after you left. She has been praying for that shadow; that is what she woke up for. She forgot it before, and only prayed for herself and the rest of the family. Neglected the shadow. Prayed that it might be watched over and protected from harm and sin, and all that. All this for a shadow. I couldn't believe my ears. It's as uncanny as praying for a clothes-pin. She calls it husband—think of it—and the word falls as pat from her mouth as if she had been used to it a year. Is this foolishness to be allowed to go on? There is only one common-sense thing to do, and she won't listen to it.”

“What is that, sister?”

“Advertise for the shadow.”

The parents were struck by that.

“Why, that is an excellent idea, Minna,” said the Colonel; “and easily and secretly managed, too.”

“Certainly. Put it in the agony column. Something like this: ‘The holder of the E ring desires to communicate with the holder of the R ring, with a view to permanent matrimony, if satisfactory to both. Confidential. Address box X, General Postoffice. Send photograph.’ ”

“Oh, Minna, it is beautiful—how did you ever think of it?”

“Thank you forⒶalteration in the MS the compliment, Louise; but to fail to think of it would have required a more remarkable mind. However, if you wait for Edith's consent, you will not get it.”

“Indeed, she cannot object, for she will not appear in it and cannot be discovered.”

“But she did object, for I proposed it.”

“Why did she?”

“She said she would have to take that husband, no matter what his photograph might look like, her conscience would require it of her; and so she would not run the risk. She has a strong instinct that he is old, and bald, and worldly.”

“Why, that is a foolish fancy, and may be wholly wrong.”

“Of course. But you know your daughter. She has said she will not run the risk.”

[begin page 299]

The parents sighed, and said in a breath, “That settles it.”

“So it does, as far as you and she are concerned.”

That was all that Minna said, but the parents understood, and gave her a grateful look. To herself she added, “I will attend to the advertising. I will land that damned shadow, and see what he is like.” She drained the Colonel's glass, and departed to her bedchamber. There she wrote her advertisement; reflected a while, then added these words: “Please furnish address for a return-photograph.” This seemed a good idea, and likely to hasten matters. If R should send a satisfactory picture, well and good; if he sent an unsatisfactory one he would get none in return, and the thing could be dropped at that point without compromising any one.

Meantime young Schuyler van Bleecker, holder of the R ring,Ⓐemendation was having a sorrowful time at home. He had arrived stunned with the disaster which had befallen him, and longing for privacy and seclusion, for he wanted to think it over undisturbed, and plan a course of action; but it was as he had been expecting—his good old mother was waiting up for him.

“Did you see her?” she asked, eagerly. “Why, how ghastly you look! what has happened?”

Fortunately his horses had been running away with him and had flung the footman from the box and crippled him. He made the most of the accident, and did not have to tell about his marriage. Since he had suffered no hurt himself, his mother was satisfied and grateful, and she soon returned with interest to her original question—

“Did you see her?”

“No, mother; if she was there I did not recognise her.”

“Oh, I am so disappointed.”

“She was only fourteen and I nineteen when I went abroad, mother; we could have met and not known each other.”

“Hardly, and you such old playmates. And besides, you were the [begin page 300] handsomest and manliest young fellow there—that I know—and she would have heard people exclaiming about you by name, everywhere you moved, and you would have heard people sayingⒶalteration in the MS ‘There she is—that's Edith!’ for she is the loveliest thing alive and can't appear anywhere without stirring up that kind of a hubbub. So she wasn't there; and it is a pity, for I have set my heart on this match, as I wrote you, and I wanted no time lost. Schuyler!”

“What, mother!”Ⓐalteration in the MS

“You don't take any interest. And yet you were so full of it, and so fine and alive and sparkling when you stepped ashore yesterdayⒶalteration in the MS. Her father and I spoke of it afterwards, when we were planning together. He was ever so much pleased with you—but now! why, now you are lifeless—even flabby. What is the matter with you, Schuyler? You never cared for a runaway before. I'm ashamed of you!”

With a wan look, the young man said—

“Bear with me, mother—I am sorry to grieve you, but I have changed my mind—”

“What do you mean?”

“Mother, I shall never marry.”

The mother was not able to speak, for astonishment. When she presently got command of her tongue again she urged, besought, implored him to explain, but in vain. He said he might tell her his reasons some day in the future, but he could do nothing now but repeat his resolve, which was irrevocable—he should never marry. He hoped she would be patient with him, pity him, bear with him—and not urge him to say more upon the subject, since it could only distress him and do no good.

She cried bitterly, for her disappointment was deep; then mother-likeⒶemendation, she put away her own troubles and did all that in her lay to soothe his mysterious hurt and make him forget it for the time. She was not utterly cast down, for in her secret heart she believed that she and Colonel Depuyster-Brevoort would know how to bring about a re-change of his mind and banish the clouds that were brooding over him now.

When she had left him he began his thinkings. There in the fore-front stood the odious fact that he was married—hard and fast. To whom? Oh, without shadow of doubt, to some stale old back number! [begin page 301] —a thought which made him sick with anguish. He reminded himself that those poor old relics were always the first to come forward when they could have the chance to frolic in the shelter of a disguise; and now—why now, without question he had annexed the oldest and dryest one for life.

And so he went on, thinking, thinking, suffering, despairing. But finally a happy thought flashed upon him: he would advertise. Yes, this promised something. E might be endurable—Ⓐemendation Ⓐalteration in the MSwhy, she really might; he need not despair yet. With a great hope risingⒶalteration in the MS in his heart, he sat down with his pen—unconscious that Minna was at the same moment doing the same thing—and then mental telegraphy did the rest. The two ads. were almost word for word alike.